The energetic Kathi has a turbulent everyday life as a working mother of three and enthusiastic sportswoman. As a health influencer, she provides information about diabetes and lipoedema on her Instagram channel @diabeteswelt_lipaktiv. This makes her a successful ambassador for people with chronic conditions. When it comes to sport, table tennis is particularly close to her heart. But she has also integrated a lot of exercise into her everyday life and leads by example.
How long have you been playing table tennis and why is it your great passion?
I've been playing table tennis since I was seven years old, so for 26 years. The sport has captured my heart because it can be played by everyone! No matter how big or small someone is, what physical stature or disability they have, table tennis can be played almost everywhere and even into old age. It is my great passion, as I was discovered as a young girl and have been in the hall several times a week practically all my life. Fortunately, I received a lot of encouragement and my coaches motivated me to keep going even during puberty, a time when many people give up competitive sport.
Today, I have many friends from the table tennis world. I like the mentality of table tennis players. Basically, I can no longer imagine my life without table tennis.
At what age were you diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? How did you deal with it?
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 21. My doctor at the time said I had to stop playing table tennis competitively. He said it was too dangerous and not really adaptable, as the therapy at the time was not yet comparable with today's possibilities. That really hit me hard and left me devastated. I didn't actually pick up the bat for a while because I had a lot of respect and was afraid of getting out of hand. When I saw that other people with type 1 diabetes were also doing sport at a high level and that there were ways of adapting to sporting activities, I tried out different strategies and finally played table tennis again. In fact, the acceptance phase after the diagnosis had quite an impact on me.
How did you come to mylife Loop?
I came to mylife Loop as a testimonial. A short test phase of a few weeks was planned to try out mylife Loop. I was one of the first in Germany to be supplied with it. Today I can say that I have been using the system for over two years and I can't imagine a more customizable, individual Loop system.
How does mylife Loop help you to keep your glucose levels within the target range during sporting activities?
I do between one and a half and two hours of sport every day. I alternate between table tennis, swimming, jumping fitness, hula hoop and strength training. Depending on the intensity, length of training and type of sport, I have now found out for myself which mylife Loop options I use for which situations. mylife Loop enables me to achieve a wonderful sport setting without a lot of preparation. I usually work with the easy-off mode and a temporarily changed glucose target.
I like to incorporate short but intensive active breaks into my working day. Most of the time, I don't have to adjust much at all for these 15 to 30-minute hula hoop or trampoline sessions. I eat a lot of protein throughout the day and eat a few fat-protein units (so-called FPE) before the activity break. I like to combine the meal with a very small amount of fast-acting carbohydrates. This completely balances out the sporting activity afterwards and keeps me within my target range. I regulate longer or more intensive sports sessions using the easy-off mode combined with glucose target adjustment. My sports diabetes management has never been as simple and easy to regulate as with mylife Loop.
How do you prepare for a longer training session or a competition when playing table tennis?
The first few years after my diagnosis were ups and downs when it came to adjusting my values during competitions or training sessions. Since I started using mylife Loop, things have improved considerably. What is important to mention is that there are various ways of regulating sporting activities with mylife Loop. You can also combine certain functions. I have gradually discovered this over the last few years. Of course, it may take a while and you may have to try out a lot of things before you find a good sports setting. But it's worth staying on the ball.
I have now optimized the management of training sessions, which last between two and three hours in table tennis. Two hours before training, I go into easy-off mode (this increases my glucose target) and at the same time I set my glucose target (under "Settings" / "Personal glucose target range") higher than usual. After training, I adjust the glucose target back to my comfort level, but leave the easy-off mode running for a while to compensate for the muscle replenishment effect after exercise.
Competitions have to be organized and managed differently. You usually play two days in a row from morning to evening and have shorter and longer breaks in between. It is usually not possible to estimate when the breaks are. That's why competitions are challenging. Here it is important for me to be between 140 and 180 mg/dL (7.8 and 10.0 mmol/L) before each match and to adjust my values regularly depending on the match. Of course, I also work with a target value increase here, but I also keep an eye on aspects such as active insulin and FPE. If there is also excitement, the values can temporarily be higher than desired. Adrenaline leads to an increase in values. In such situations, I always keep my mylife CamAPS FX app to hand so that I can see exactly where the value is, where the trend arrow is pointing and whether I should activate boost mode if necessary.
Where do you stow the pump and smartphone when playing table tennis?
When I'm playing table tennis, I wear my mylife YpsoPump on the waistband of my table tennis skirt or in the pants underneath. The pants have a pocket, which is where I usually keep the pump during training or table tennis matches. Sometimes I also wear the mylife YpsoPump in my bra. I always keep my cell phone under the table in the middle when I'm playing table tennis. This way I can be sure that the Bluetooth range is given, I have my values and my loop can run.
Have you noticed an improvement in your athletic performance or recovery since using mylife Loop? If so, is there an example?
Above all, I can start sporting activities more spontaneously and with more mental freedom than ever before, as I have found my way with the various customization options for any sporting activity. Since I've been using mylife Loop, I haven't had to interrupt a tournament because my system has mastered every diabetes-specific challenge really well so far. What I have noticed is that I dare to exercise more and more often. The system relieves me of many worries and fears when it comes to sporting activities.
How does mylife Loop help you to adjust your insulin dosage or control your glucose levels during different types of physical activity?
I have already discussed competitive sports and competitions in detail above. Now I would like to talk about light physical activities such as walking with the children, gardening or short hikes. I usually set the Ease-Off mode for lighter physical activities and don't change my glucose target, as this is absolutely sufficient for me. Nevertheless, I like to have enough hypo-helpers with me in the form of fast-acting carbohydrates in case the activity is more intense than expected.
Can you give any tips or strategies for other athletes with diabetes who are considering using mylife Loop to control their diabetes during exercise?
In my opinion, it is important to approach and test all the functions of mylife Loop. The easy-off mode is a wonderful way to temporarily increase your glucose target. If you have a very low initial glucose target, you can also use the target value adjustment and change and try it out depending on the type of sport, intensity, duration and hormonal situation until you have found your optimum setting. Precise documentation of the settings for various sporting activities can help here.
What are your thoughts when you watch table tennis competitions at the Olympic Games?
I think to myself every time that table tennis should actually be more popular because the games are super vivid and exciting! There have been so many changes like the shorter sets and bigger balls to get more people to watch table tennis on TV or at events - but the "BOOM" hasn't happened. Maybe things will change this year. Otherwise, I wish my colleagues at the Olympics every success, as I know some of them personally. Not only table tennis players, but also many track and field athletes.
